I don't think there were many people that doubted the semi-truck, but the Cybertruck is very much an "I'll believe it when I see it." Even if the Cybertruck ends up being real, I don't see it selling very well. Tesla missed the mark big time by not beating Ford and GM to market. Trying to compete with Ford on anything truck related is going to be next to impossible, and when you add the GM pair to the mix, it'll become more difficult. It's not even going to capture the "I don't want a name brand truck" market too, since Rivian already beat them there as well.
About the only thing it will compete with is that monstrosity Hummer EV. So the target market is pretty much going to be "influencers."
I'm still not sure what the point of the Cybertruck is either. It's not going to do truck things well at all, it's going to be too heavy to really go off-road, and if they sell it with those tires, it's going to chew through the range rather quickly. There was so much Tesla could've done with their truck, but instead, they (or really Musk) made something useless. Something to compete against trucks like the Ford Maverick would've been excellent since there is absolutely a need for a mid-sized, electric truck that gets decent range and works well in an urban environment.
That could be true. From what I've seen, consumers in the US truck market are extremely loyal to the brands they have been using for decades. Even if Tesla does offer a superior product, it will be difficult to convince many of those people to switch to Tesla.
Your comment on the Hummer being the only real competitor to the Cybertruck - Do you mean this in terms of polarising design, functionality, or number of units sold? I would personally prefer a truck which has been designed using a bespoke EV platform rather than a modified traditional chassis, as it helps with efficiency, safety, and perhaps also a bit of weight.
Then there's also the nerdy stuff which I find appealing, such as V4.0 FSD hardware, waterproofing, biohazard air filters, 4-wheel steering, steer-by-wire system, Teslas software with continuous over-the-air updates, and the ridiculously tough body panels with no paint to worry about. I think it looks rather cool too... But I'm weird.
Granted there's often a similar degree of cynicism around anything Musk says, as is there blind belief, but most of the criticism I've seen is centered around failure to deliver what he's claimed he'd deliver either when he said he'd deliver it, if at all. The simple day to day performance and suitability remains to be seen, but, as with electric cars, there's little reason to believe it won't be a suitable solution for a big piece of the market. The timescale is an obvious **** up though... announced 5 years ago with deliveries slated to start in 2019, here we are, nearly in 2023. Okay, so put that error of judgment down to whatever you want... but then look at the other stuff that was presented as part of what the Semi was going to be during the Semi presentation event.
"Travel anywhere in the world on the Tesla Megacharger network"... how's that coming along? "we can guarantee the electricity rates because these will be solar powered mega chargers", that'll be great news for achieving the cost benefits Elon stated, but again, it's not here yet, and certainly seems to be a way off "It’s 24/7 guaranteed"...
... and then you get onto the statements made about the economics of it, let's not forget Elon also said running a diesel truck would be "economic suicide", and also "suicide for rail"...
The promises, the expectation and the hype that was built by the Semi pitch is not fulfilled simply by delivering battery powered trucks, and anyone saying "Look, Elon delivered!!" is being as disingenuous as someone who told you "it will always be vapourware".
My comment was just a cheeky jab at the people who said the Semi will never exist... And there were plenty of people. But yes, I completely agree. Elon timelines are usually far too over-ambitious. We know that demand for battery cells have caused a huge bottleneck for Tesla's future product expansions. Combined with the unexpected demand for the 3 and the Y, they had to dedicate their battery supplies to those two vehicles and put Semi and Cybertruck on the backburner.
But I shall rant. We know the Roadster 2.0 was always intended as a low-volume product, capacity at no more than 200kWh per unit, and the Semi contains up to 1MWh per unit (And we have learnt recently they are not even dependent on 4680 cells!). So my question is, where the heck have they been for the last two years? I know the Model Y ramp is important when they are making north of 20% profit margin on each vehicle, but surely they could have sacrificed a few thousand Y's in order to start producing the Semi on time.
The Roadster 2.0 delay is even less understandable, considering it shares existing hardware with the S Plaid+. I 100% agree that Tesla should not announce a new product with a sale date unless they have the design finalised and resources reserved, with potential delays taken into account.
Saying that, they did release the Model Y six months earlier than promised, so perhaps Elon is beginning to restrain his timeline expectations.
I note Mercedes have already shifted 400+ eTrucks (and Buses) in the first half of this year, on top of 3,300 eVans, for moving freight... (and we've also had "eTrains" for shifting cargo for decades!)...
Those eTrucks are at 240kWh capacity - Not the same product as a Class 8, 1MWh Semi.
The eVans are brilliant, and Mercedes needs to focus on ramping production.
*I just want to note...the Ford F series is utterly ubiquitous in the US
at 750-900k annual sales like clockwork. They are literally
everywhere. I honestly can't imagine seeing cybertrucks at the same rate as F series, my brain refuses to produce the image because it makes zero sense.
I personally think that the Cybertruck will outsell the F-150 Lightning within two years of production due to its manufacturing
speed and larger battery supply. Ford is cell constrained, but will be aiming to produce 150,000 Lightnings next year.
Cybertuck will not outsell overall F series anytime soon though! I doubt 900k potential customers per year will even exist.
But what I'm getting at is that Tesla has a lot of sitting inventory in an environment of scarce new cars.
R1600Turbo is correct here - This will just be a Tesla delivery/collection center for cars already paid for.